1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a movable connector having an alignment mechanism connected through a hole on a panel of a vehicle, and more particularly to an improved movable connector which does not fall off even if a movable locking arm is unexpectedly disconnected from the panel hole.
2. Related Art
FIG. 4 shows a movable connector having a conventional alignment mechanism mounted onto a panel at its hole.
Reference numeral 1 shows a connector holder for holding a plurality of connectors C indicated by an alternate long and two short dashes line. The connector holder 1 takes the form of a shallow box made of synthetic resin or light metal. A flange 12 is formed around a bottom wall 11, and movable locking arms 2 and 2' protrude from the both sides of the bottom surface of the flange 12. The movable locking arms 2 and 2' extend forward from the flange 12 via sprung mounting base portions 21. A hook-type stopper 22 is formed on the edge of each of the movable locking arms 2 and 2'. The sprung mounting base portions 21 and the locking arms 2 and 2' have elasticity.
In the center of the connector holder 1, a guide rod 13 is provided for guiding and engaging the connectors C with mating connectors (not shown). A guide taper 14 is provided on the tip end of the guide rod.
When the connector holder 1 is inserted into a panel hole 31 of a panel 3 of a vehicle, the movable locking arms 2 and 2' are elastically bent toward the connector holder 1, and then the movable locking arms 2 and 2' elastically return to its home position when the edges of the stoppers 22 move out of the panel hole 31. Thus, the stoppers 22 engage with the rim of the panel hole 31 at the front surface 3a of the panel 3, and the flange 12 is brought into contact with the rear surface 3b of the panel 3, so that the connector holder 1 can be locked into the panel hole 31 and prevented from slipping off in either forward or backward direction.
When the locking of the connector holder 1 is in progress or complete, the connector holder 1 is movable in the direction of arrows Y and Y' within the panel hole 31 by bending the movable locking arms 2 and 2'. The connector holder 1 can also be movable in X-Y direction (not shown in the figure), which is perpendicular to the Y-Y' direction.
Accordingly, even if the connectors C is not aligned with the mating connectors that are provided on the front surface 3a of the panel 3 in advance, they can be automatically aligned with each other by simply inserting the connector holder 1 into the panel hole 13 by virtue of the guide rod 13 having the guide taper 14, and the elastically movable locking arms 2 and 2'. Thus, the engaging operation and the locking operation can be easily performed.
However, if the connector holder 1 greatly deviates toward one side (toward Y', for instance) as shown in FIG. 5, the stopper 22 of the movable locking arm 2 is disengaged from the panel hole 31 on the opposite side (on the Y side), resulting in slipping off of the connector holder 1 from the panel 3 in the direction of an arrow P.
Such deviation of the connector holder 1 toward one side may occur, aside from considerable off-centering of the connectors, when it is mounted to the panel hole 31 or when the connection wires (not shown) of the connectors C are subject to a tension force caused externally.